The Fuller Cardigan is the raglan cardi of our dreams, and today we’ll be showing you how to turn it into the raglan sweater of your dreams!

Turning a sweater pattern into a cardigan can be a bit of a head scratcher, but luckily going the other way around is super easy! I think you’ll be delighted to see just how easy it is, and how much further you can make your cardigan patterns go with this hack.

For the sweater we’re making today, we’re going to be using View B of the Fuller Cardigan using the long sleeves of View A, but you can just as easily do View A with View B sleeves, or any combination of neckline, length and sleeves that you desire.

Okay, let’s get started. For this hack, we need to eliminate the button band on the front bodice (1 A/B/C) so that we can cut the front on the fold. We’ll also need to tweak our front facing piece (4B) and our front waistband (7). Here are the pieces we’ll be adjusting:

Let’s start with the front bodice. We’re going to trim off the 3/8” (1 cm) seam allowance (which attaches the facing to the bodice). The two sides of the front also overlap by 1/2” (1.3 cm) at the button band, so that means that the bodice extends 1/4” (0.6 cm) beyond the true center of the front. We’ll eliminate that as well.

So to recap, we’re going to trim the center of the front bodice by 3/8” + 1/4” = 5/8” (1.6 cm). That will allow us to cut the front bodice on the fold.

Let’s do the same thing with the front hem band—we’re going to remove 5/8” (1.6 cm) from the center (the side without the notch). If you’re making View A which doesn’t have a hem band, you can skip this part!

Finally, we need to adjust the front facing. As you can see, this piece scoops around the neckline and then drops down to the hem. Since our front is now a solid piece, we don’t need to face anything but the neckline.

To adjust this piece, we’re going to first continue the bottom curve of the front facing to the center. It’s okay if this curve isn’t totally perfect—it’ll be on the inside of your sweater anyway.

After that we’re going to eliminate the 5/8” (1.6 cm) from the center like we did with the other two pieces.

And there we have it! Our three adjusted pieces are ready, and all can be cut on the fold.

Here are the adjusted pieces cut out:

Time to sew up our sweater! We’ve just shaved off quite a few steps in the sewing process so this Fuller sweater will be sewn up in no time.

Follow the instructions of the Fuller Cardigan to sew the bust and shoulder darts, and to attach the sleeves to the front bodice and the back bodice. We’re going to pause there and not sew up our side seams just yet—it’ll be easier to attach our neck facing when we can lay the garment flat (sort of).

Now let’s assemble our neck facing. Don’t forget to apply your interfacing first! You may want to use stretch interfacing to make sure you can get the sweater on over your head. I’m using black interfacing for my sweater.

Attach the shoulder facings to the front facing (along the more angled edge of the shoulder facing) and then attach the back facing. Finish the outer edge of the facing by folding and topstitching, or by serging.

Now let’s lay the facing on top of the neck opening and pin.

We’re going to sew this seam at our 3/8” (1 cm) seam allowance.

Understitch the facing to the seam allowance (this helps keep the facing from peeking out) and then fold the facing towards the inside of the sweater and press. Pin or use Wonder Tape to hold it in place. Topstitch the facing down from the right side 1 3/8” (3.5 cm) from the neck edge.

Okay, now we can sew up our side seams and attach our hem band. Remember that our front hem band is now cut on the fold, so we need to attach it to the back hem band at both ends before folding, pressing, and attaching to our bodice. If you’re sewing View A (without the hem band) you can turn up your hem and topstitch to finish it.

And as a final step, we can attach our sleeve cuffs and then we’re done!

I (Ayelet) am wearing a Fuller Cardigan in a size 12 E/F using two sweater knit leftovers from my stash. (Color blocking is great for stash busting!) I’m a bit shorter than what the pattern is drafted for so I shortened the bodice by 1″ for an extra cropped look. This sweater hack would also work well with the mid-hip length.

Is this a hack you want to try for yourself? We’d love to see your Fuller sweaters (or cardigans, of course!) so be sure to tag us and use the hashtag #FullerCardigan.

What other hacks do you have planned for the Fuller?